Homemade Chicken Broth

Running a little behind in my day today… as usual. I have to head into work to make the dollar dollar billz, but I wanted to make sure to post about my chicken broth that I finally finished cooking last night. Yep, I kept that baby simmering in the slow cooker for 24 long hours.

Tonight after the gym (I ended up missing Monday and I’m not very happy about it), I am going to make myself some mushroom soup using my homemade chicken broth, which I plan to share next. The husband won’t eat mushrooms, so I get to keep it all to myself MWAHAHAHA. But for my vegetarian friends, you can substitute veggie broth for chicken broth and you will love it just as much as I do. Also, for those who don’t have (or want to make) the time to make your own broth from scratch, although it’s soooo much healthier if you do, you can use packaged chicken broth from the grocery store. But for now, here’s the homemade good stuff…

Enough water to cover all the ingredients (10-12 cups depending on the size of your device)

Step 1: CLEAN, CHOP & PLOP. Clean your veggies and chicken – I like to make sure all the feather stubs are removed from the chicken skin, usually found around the tail/rear area. Chop up your veggies (onion, celery stalks and carrots if you’re using them) and plop all your ingredients in the slow cooker. Feel free to adjust the amount of ingredients you want depending on personal preference and the size of your chicken.

Step 2: COVER, BEGIN THEN REDUCE: Fill to the brim with water, as this will turn into your tasty broth. Cook on High for 2.5 hours. After 2.5 hours, reduce heat to low.

Step 3: REMOVE YOUR MEAT & CONTINUE TO HEAT. After another 3-4.5 hours (once the chicken is cooked thoroughly and bones are falling apart), pick out as much meat as you can and place in a separate dish. This isn’t necessary, but I prefer to take the chicken out before it cooks super long. I find it to be more moist this way, and it can be used in other dishes. Continue to let the broth simmer on low heat for a total of 12-24 hours. **Update – If I plan to let simmer over 20 hours, once it’s about 12 hours in and the broth has cooked itself down, I like to add additional water to the crockpot.

Step 4: STRAIN & STORE. I use a wire mesh colander/strainer over small bowls to separate chunks from broth. My bowls have locking lids for easy storage in the fridge (similar to these). Anything left over after filling my two bowls, I freeze in ice cube trays with lid (so I can stack them). Then remove the cubes and store in containers in the freezer for future use. I also like to skim off the fat that gathers at the top once the broth cools, and store for cooking vegetables later in the week.

Strain & Store – make sure you date your storage containers!

*Check out my Ingredients FAQ page regarding benefits of homemade chicken broth and any ingredients you may see on my blog.